Autism Speaks in Photos?

Snap Stories: DIY (at home) photo board books I am fortunate that I spend my time working on a product that makes people happy.  But the feel-good factor is even higher when the actual sale of a book is tied to something discretely good, like autism research.  My friend’s sister has an autistic child and she’s opening her home next Wednesday, April 14th, for a Spring Shopping  Boutique to raise funds for Autism Speaks.

Last night I was reflecting on what I know about autism, which, admittedly, is not much.  I recalled an interview on NPR with Temple Grandin where she described autistics as visual thinkers.  Which made me wonder, if a photo speaks volumes, would Snap Stories be particularly valuable to a person with autism?  I quickly poked around but didn’t find anything specific to autism and the use of photos.  If you have any thoughts, let me know…

What I did find was the following:

• Laura says on her website www.boardbookalbums.com:   ”Studies have shown that young children only have object recognition with photos. This means that before the age of two, they can not relate a drawing of an object with the actual object, but they can relate a photo of the object with the actual object.”
• Caroline, founder of love2read books, says:  ”Research shows that if your child loves books they will learn to read much faster and you will be encouraging a lifelong love of reading.”
• Teachers and parents of autistic children believe that autistic children learn best with hands on or very colorful activities. Books with pictures, audio books, and touch and feel books all work well.

It’s helpful to keep these tidbits in mind as you’re picking out shower gifts, or expanding your favorite baby’s library.  You could use:

• Snap Stories (10 photos + pre-written story line, DIY with printed photos)
• My First Board Book Album (20 photos, no words, DIY with printed photos),
• Love 2 Read (numerous photos, you write the story, create online —in the UK)
• “old school” scissors & glue and just adhere portions of printed photos into a board book.

 Also mark your calendars for next Wednesday & TELL ALL YOUR FRIENDS!  If you come to 6429 San Bonita in Clayton, MO, you’ll be guaranteed a great shopping experience & feel-good vibes for supporting Autism Speaks.

Thanks for reading & for the joy of ALL children, keep printing those photos!

Cali’s First Album features 20 photos of family & petsCali “stricken” by the saga of her Snap Story! (Oh, will she be mad at me one day for posting this photo!)